Community notes Feb 29th
February 25, 2020
Medjugorje Pilgrimage
There is a 7 day pilgrimage being organised from Cork to Madjugorje on May 27th. landing in Mostar, a fantastic new airport, which is only 30 minutes from Medjugorje. This will eliminate the inconvenience of border crossing. There will be two spiritual directors on the pilgrimage, Fr. Patrick Hickey PP and his brother Fr. Liam. Full details are available from Gerald Madden at 0863666514.
100 Years Ago
Following on from last week’s account of the attack on Timoleague RIC Barracks on the 25th. of February 1920 the Skibbereen Eagle gave a detailed account of the happenings on the night in its edition of Saturday February 28th. The headings included: “Attack on Timoleague Barracks. A desperate affray. Three men shot – reported dead. Raiders beaten off.”
There were a number of reports with the first one stating that three raiders were found dead and a fourth was badly wounded and was not expected to survive. The dead men were believed to be the bomb throwers. It also reported that the raiders numbered between 80 and 100 men who were all armed. The telegraph wires to the village were cut, the report added. It also stated that some raiders used railway wagons at the nearby railway station as armoured cars from which to fire on the barracks.
After the raid was called off the wounded man was questioned and stated that seven had been wounded but had been carried off when the raiders retreated. There was no lighting on the street and no doors were opened. Later that night more police and military with armoured cars arrived into the village and began to search the surrounding area for the raiders but they were not discovered.
The following quote makes for interesting reading. “The audacity of the affair is fairly astounding and is a revelation of murderous spirit which cannot be too strongly condemned”.
Another account is also published with the following heading: “We can vouch for the absolute accuracy of every word of this narrative”
It stated that raiders began to set their powerful explosives viz. about 20 lbs. of gun cotton in slabs of 15ozs. Each was attached to a long plank of timber, netted on with cord and timber standards about 30 ins. in length holding up this plank and inclined inwards towards the wall. The raiders were saluted in time by bomb after bomb hurled in their midst which made some of them sore and sorry. The gun cotton was placed just around the room where Sgt. Flynn’s wife and three children were sleeping. It goes on to state that “the prayers of the little ones were more powerful than the raiders explosives”. The raiders left a half a dozen large bombs in the car-way beside the barracks. Their commander rallied them several times but they were met with too hot a fire from the garrison which consisted of two sergeants and four constables. After an hour’s desperate and determined siege, the raiders went to a yard in the village and got a cart which they filled with hay, into which they poured four tins of petrol in order to set fire to the bombs and explosives. They were met with hand grenades from the garrison and they were put to flight. The hay however took fire and the flames shot several feet higher than the house tops.
The commander shouted to the garrison several times “Surrender” but the response was “Never” and “Wait ‘till the clouds roll by”. The siege lasted from 11pm until 3am and the report states that “the raiders suffered a sanguinary defeat”.
“Clonakilty Bereavement Group
Are you grieving?
Would you like help with your particular loss?
Clonakilty Bereavement group is a safe and secure place in which to work through your grief.
We are offering support over a 5 week period commencing on the 5th March in Clonakilty.
For information 023 8834320 / 086 8259317”